Clearing Out Your Pantry - Shopping in Your Own Home

Clearing out your clutter - purging and organizing your home should be an ongoing event. One of the areas that a lot of people overlook is the refrigerator and the pantry.

Once things go into the refrigerator or the pantry - they are never seen again! They sit there - on the shelf or inside the door - and are forgotten. People buy condiments or spices for a recipe - use a little bit - and then forget about them. Or they "buy one bottle of ketchup or salad dressing and get one free" - and they never end up using it all. Or they buy multiple cans of soup or vegetables - and they just sit on the shelf. 

Don't forget the cake mixes, frosting and sprinkles....because you can never have enough! 

And then everything is forgotten. We go to the store - mostly without a list - and everything that looks good or is on sale - ends up in our grocery cart. Even with a list - how can you resist all of those bargains???

We buy too much food and it's wasted. It's time to make some changes!

First - make it a habit to clean our your refrigerator. I mean really take a look at every single item in the refrigerator. Start with each door - check the expiration dates of everything. Toss out anything that is expired and anything that is opened and has been in the refrigerator too long - anything that is half used and you are not going to finish it. 

Then, start with the top shelf of the refrigerator and work your way down to the bottom. Take out all of the items - wipe down the shelf - and clear out anything that is too old or you won't eat anymore. Go from shelf to shelf and do the same.

Start a new habit by looking into the refrigerator each time before you go shopping and checking out what you have left in there - before you buy anything else. Do the same with your pantry! Shop your home first!

In your pantry - when you put anything in there - be sure to put the new items that you buy in back of the older items - so that you always use your older items first.

In your freezer - before you put anything into your freeze - date it and write the contents on the bag (or container) on it so that you know what's in there. Believe me - you will not be able to recognize the frozen blob a few months from now!

Now to really get a head start on clearing out your pantry, refrigerator and freezer - try a "No Buying - Shop Your Pantry" month!!!  For one month - use up everything in your kitchen, refrigerator, freezer and pantry! Whatever you have on hand - is what your meals will consist of!  Be creative. Use up all of the meat that you bought, use up the beans and pasta and rice. Use up the soups. Make some desserts.... Clear out all of the old food!

Not only will this save you money but it will also help clear out the stockpile of food you have in your home. One of the other benefits - is that you will see the kinds of food items that you have too much of and really don't use a lot of. When you start buying food again - you will be more conscious of what you really use and what you don't.

So - try the Shop Your Pantry month - save money and have a more organized home.

*** this great idea was shared with me by Judy - a great client who is on her way to becoming more organized every day

Happy Organizing!

Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com
.

Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest

*** check out the Products tab for self-paced workshops, planners and more....   

Expiration Dates - Maybe It's Time to Clean Out Your Pantry, Fridge and Medicine Cabinet

These days a lot of people have pantries where they can buy and store large amounts of food. A great idea to save time and money. You only have to shop once and you get discounts for buying in bulk. 

But, how long are these foods actually good for? A lot of foods, at least foods that go in your pantry, have an “expiration date” on them. Or a “sell by” date. Or a “best if used by” date. 

What does this all mean? Well, unfortunately the answer isn’t as simple is you might expect. Foods like ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, herbs and many others have “best if used by” dates on them. 

Meats have “sell by” dates on them. These dates do not mean that the products are no longer good after that date. It means that, in the case of things like ketchup and mayonnaise (unopened), the products are at their ”best” if “used by” a specific date. After that the textures, consistency or taste might be affected. For meats the “sell by” date means that the stores want it out of the store and in your home “by” that date. But, you can still have it in your refrigerator after that date. It’s a bit confusing and scary. 

A great website that has a lot of information on “expiration dates” and can answer a lot of questions about those “dates on the cans” is: http://www.stilltasty.com/ 

It has tips for storage and how long food lasts. It answers questions such as: “When should you wash fruit, before you store it in the refrigerator or right before you eat it?”.  The answer: “right before you eat it”. 

Another question -  “Is it O.K. to put hot foods directly into the fridge?”.  The answer: “yes”. 

The website has info on : * Fruits * Vegetables * Dairy & Eggs * Meat & Poultry * Fishes & Shellfish * Nuts & Legumes * Grains & Pasta * Condiments & Oils * Herbs & Spices * Snacks & Sweets * Baked Goods * Beverages It’s a great website ! 

Another great article was published in Southern Living. Check it out:

How Often Do You Actually Need To Replace Your Pantry Staples?

Check it these great resources so that you can know how long your food is safe to eat. 

Also - don't forget your bathroom and medicine cabinet. Medicine does expire! If it's past the expiration date the medicine will not be effective. But - please do not flush it down the toilet! Most pharmacies have bins where you can take your expired medicines (both script and OTC meds).

Makeup - yes, makeup also expires. It's a good idea to write down the date that you started using your makeup (mascara, eyeliner, lipstick.....) and dispose of it after a certain period to time. Makeup can get contaminated easily so you want to be careful not to share your makeup and also know how long you've had it.

Now it's time to clear out and organize your pantry, fridge and medicine cabinet! Get into the habit of doing this at least once every six months. 

Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com
.

Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest

*** check out the Products tab for self-paced workshops, planners and more.... 

Kitchen - Organizing your Food and Recipes

When people think about organizing their kitchens - they don't usually think about all of the food that a kitchen contains. But most kitchens have a lot of food products that have been forgotten about.

At least twice a year (if not once a season) - it's a good idea to go through all of your cupboards and look at every single item that you have in your pantry and see if it has expired or if you will actually ever use it. Sometimes people buy things with a certain recipe in mind - but it never actually gets made - and you have a handful of a certain spice or condiment that you will never actually use.

Be honest with yourself and toss out the unused or half-used spices or condiments or other food products - some of which you may have forgotten about.

And now to the recipes......

We all have good intentions and we really do want to make that fancy dinner or fancy dessert that we saw in the magazine - but - life gets in the way! Go through your pile of recipes that were ripped out of magazines and toss out the ones that will take too much effort (that you don't have) or one that you now realize and admit - that you will never make. 

Go through your cookbooks and get rid of ones that you've never used or will never use. 

Get rid of things that are cluttering your home and your life. Don't feel pressured to keep things just because you bought them or someone gave them to you. 

Simplify your life....and gain the Freedom to do whatever you really want to do....

Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com
.

Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest

*** check out the Products tab for self-paced workshops, planners and more.... 

 

FOOD PRODUCTS and EXPIRATION DATES

These days a lot of people have pantries where they buy and store large amounts of food. A great idea to save time and money. You only have to shop once and you get discounts for buying in bulk.

But….how long are these foods actually good for?

A lot of foods …at least foods that go in your pantry, have an “expiration date” on them. Or a “sell by” date. Or a “best if used by” date.

What does this all mean?

Well… unfortunately the answer isn’t as simple is you might expect.

Foods like ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, herbs and many others have “best if used by” dates on them. Meats have “sell by” dates on them.

These dates do not mean that the products are no longer good after that date. It means that, in the case of things like ketchup and mayonnaise (unopened), the products are at their ”best” if “used by” a specific date. After that the textures, consistency or taste might be affected.

For meats the “sell by” date means that the stores want it out of the store and in your home “by” that date. But, you can still have it in your refrigerator after that date.

It’s a bit confusing and scary.

A great website that has a lot of information on “expiration dates” and can answer a lot of questions about those “dates on the cans” is:

http://www.stilltasty.com/

It has tips for storage and how long food lasts. It answers questions such as:

“When should you wash fruit, before you store it in the refrigerator or right before you eat it?”. The answer: “right before you eat it”.

Or… “Is it O.K. to put hot foods directly into the fridge?”. The answer: “yes”.

The website has info on :

* Fruits
* Vegetables
* Dairy & Eggs
* Meat & Poultry
* Fishes & Shellfish
* Nuts & Legumes
* Grains & Pasta
* Condiments & Oils
* Herbs & Spices
* Snacks & Sweets
* Bakes Goods
* Beverages

It’s a great website ! Check it out…and be “more organized”.



Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/